[smadge]

California has the opportunity to be a beacon in North America for environmental and climate action e.g. by expanding solar production, finishing the CAHSR, and other projects like expanding and electrifying mass transit and commuter rail networks, but they are their own worst enemy.

[oceanplexian]

California has already fallen behind both Texas and Florida in new utility grade solar. As for CA-HSR, no comment. But if you don't want to wait, you can buy a ticket today and ride Florida's new high speed rail between Orlando and Miami.

[drtz]

The fact that Brightline can take you from Miami to Orlando is wonderful, and I'm really happy Florida is embracing more efficient, less dangerous, and less stressful forms of transportation.

But using it to make a subtle jab agains CAHSR isn't really fair -- they're two very different projects (for one of them, it's genuinely a stretch to call it "HSR") in two very different regions.

Yes, it's harder to get big projects through the red tape in California than it is in West / Panhandle Texas or Central Florida. Go take a drive through those regions and you'll quickly see some reasons why, besides just NIMBYism, Californians are a bit more protective of their landscapes. If a massive wind project were proposed across large swaths of the Texas Hillcountry, you'd see a lot more push-back.

[toomuchtodo]

Brightline’s muni bonds have been downgraded to highly speculative. Ride while you can.

https://www.fitchratings.com/research/infrastructure-project...

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-07-11/florida-s... | https://archive.today/LEyBC

[seszett]

Brightline is a diesel train that runs 80-125 mph (130-200 kmh) though, that can hardly be called HSR. In Europe or Asia that is just called "rail".

[kccqzy]

That high speed rail is not electric unlike high speed rail in Europe or Japan or China. It doesn't deliver enough climate benefits.